Allout

That's one reason why I went with the Rotora BBK. When I spoke with them, they told me that their calipers were sized to work with the stock master cylinder and proportioning valve. Piston diameter is also part of the design characteristics. Ever wonder why the Legend caliper has a different set of pistons than the NSX? The leading and trailing piston sizes are not by accident. Both cars have different weight transfer characteristics.

car_lost

this has been done before... it will work fine.

shinybluecls

i think the general consensus of the board is that the stock acura brakes suck...i don't know what they were thinking with pairing these brakes up with such a heavy car...
and yes this has been done before, even the guys over at the accord forums have been doing this swap for a while now all with positive feedback

mrsteve

iTrader: (1)

The Brembo kit that Comptech sells usings calipers designed for Lotus, not our Acuras. I highly doubt Rotora specially designed a caliper solely for the CL/TL application.

I don't think i'll run into problems.

skgarach

mrsteve,
When do you plan on doing the swap? you mind taking some pics of how the caliper comes off and the new one goes on?

thx.

mrsteve

iTrader: (1)

You unscrew two bolts that hold the caliper on, disconnect the brake line, reconnect the brake line to the new caliper, reinstall pads, line caliper up, tighten 2 bolts. It literally takes 25-30 minutes to swap. Then bleed the brakes and you are done.

All Mine

I had Legend calipers on my old Accord. Stopped quite niiiiiice.

Allout

I don't know about the Brembo kit and was specifically talking about the Rotora kit. Rotora may not have specifically designed a caliper soley for th CL/TL but I do believe it was selected from their various calipers for this application.

So what is your understanding why there is a difference in piston stagger for the NSX(40mm & 36mm) vs Legend(40mm & 38mm) caliper?

I don't think you'll run into any problems either. ABS will cure alot. Most you'll see is uneven pad wear caused by uneven pressure over the full surface of the pad.

Calipers will help braking but you will still have the issue of the rotor. The rotor still has to absorb the heat that's converted. Part of that is a function of the mass of the rotor. The other part is how well the rotor sheds it's heat (rotor vein design) I also think another side advantage of the BBK is that you have to remove the dust shield which promotes more ventilation across the back of the rotor.

If you're spending $500 for calipers and another $200 for rotors and pads you're not that far off from buying a full BBK kit that includes SS lines for the front. Brakes are an area that I strongly feel is worth putting money into. If you're going to drive fast, you better be able to stop fast and the BBK does that and allows you to do it multiple times. If you drive mostly straight and don't need multiple stop capabilities, BBK probably isn't necessary.

civicking

the difference in size is based on two things one is that the legend is front engine so its got a different weight transfer and next is that it weighs about 500lbs more then the nsx does. next a rotora brake kit is 1400 while what you said is 700, how is that close in price? a brembo brake kit is 2300, and i'm also sure that the rotora or the brembo will not fit my stock 16" rims.

civicking

as an add on, i can get rebuilt legend calipers form napa for 350 and two brembo discs for 114 and pads for 80 so thats 544 no where near the 700 you said. technically i don't have to get new rotors because they are already new, i just have to machine them and get new pads and calipers so for me that would bring me to 430, thats about 1000 less then a BBK.

Allout

That's exactly my point. Don't expect the NSX calipers to behave exactly the same as the Legend calipers. If I were to guess, the Legend caliper is a better fit to the CL.

You can find Rotora kits for 1200-1300 delivered. Add in the two front SS brake lines and you're up to 750 vs 1200. In my book $450 isn't a significant amount for the additional capabilites of the BBK.

Agreed. 16" rims is definitely a limiting factor that throws out any discussion of the 13"BBK kits so no need to go down that road. In your case, Legend calipers and upgraded pads is probably a good alternative.

Allout

Finding the best deal for your situation is always a goal. It really gets down to what you want and your driving style and purpose. I've seen used BBK kits for 600-700. That closes the gap to your $430 but it's irrelevant since 16" wheels is your limiting factor. Good luck with your mod. Sounds like you've thought it out for your situation and budget.

skgarach

Anyone do the nsx/legend brake swap yet? I just want to hear a review before i end up buying them.

civicking

well if you wait untill next week i just ordered the calipers and new pads, i will tell you guys how it goes, i will even provide pictures.

Chr8808

iTrader: (1)

Where did you purchase em from? and at what $$ ??

civicking

well the calipers i got them from carquest auto parts (i don't know if you guys have carquest where you live) they are rebuilt with new seals and new pistons, both cost me $250 that includes the core charges of $100 so really the calipers only cost 150 if i had two old ones to give them back but i don't so thats fine.

CL FWD SPEED

Can you still use your Stock wheels with the Rotora BBK? any Wheel Spacers required?

car_lost

5mm spacers are required

Allout

Yes. You can run 17" stock wheels with a 5mm spacer. Clearance is close but it works.

Rspec

Hey guys do you think it will be :ghey: to spray the NSX caliper cos i prefer that to the legend caliper just cos of the looks.

civicking

well i just got the calipers and pads, the install will hopefully be done by tuesday , here are some pictures

car_lost

are those nsx or legend calipers?

mrsteve

iTrader: (1)

Legend

civicking

legend coupe calieprs seeing as you guys told me that they had the biggest pistons in them, i hope it all goes together fine, and i hope i don't have any wheel clarence issues.

car_lost

they come black like that?

civicking

they are not black they are silver the camera makes them look black.

civicking

well i just finished the install, it was a little pain in the ass because one caliper had the wrong bleeder installed and it leaked and also it has a small metal spring bracket missing, i will have to get a new one tomorrow. also tomorrow I will get the brakes power bled because i was by meyself, i did a gravity bleed but i want to make sure that all the air is out, i will have pictures and everything soon, i am exhusted right now, so its going to be tomorrow when i get everything up.

R J Poseidon 6

Thanx for the updates, Im very interested in this as to slowing from 100+ speeds daily I know the need for lil help in the stoppin' power!

I too dig the fact that it would say NSX on my brakes cuz I think our cars are direct cousins anyway...

We r just 10hp shy of the originals anyway!

R J Poseidon 6

Any word on the rears yet?

turbowonder

if u really wanted to u can get the calipers at ur local kragen but they wont say nsx on them from what i believe, but the calipers run about 50-80 bucks from what the webpage says on kragen.com and for the core u can just give them ur old calipers and they wont even know that they need to be dual piston cause my friend has done a sort of swap like this before and it worked on the core part.

xenolite

I don't think I will get NSX calipers anymore.
I think the 04 TL Brembos will bolt right on to our car.
The regular 04 TL has the same rotor diameter (I assume there hasn't been any changes to the knuckle assembly) and the Brembos are only slightly larger and they still fit 17" rims.
I wonder what the cost is for the parts is though.
If they don't rip me off I think I'll let them do the install too.
Ohwell all for next summer. =)

Chopsie

Sweet... and to still have the NSX imprint on them = hawtness y0

tankmonkey

the non-brembo '04 tl has the same diameter rotor, but the caliper brackets are different from the cl.

the brembo and non-brembo '04 tl use the same knuckle assemblies, so the brembo kit will retrofit to a non-brembo '04 tl.

what this means is that you will likely have to modify the brembo caliper bracket and/or the cl knuckle to make the brembos fit. this may be as simple as shimming the caliper bracket to center over the rotor or as involved as machining the bracket to fit (or even making a new bracket).

you'll also need the '04 front brake lines or a custom set of stainless lines without the banjo-style fitting, as the brembos don't use banjo bolts.

bear in mind, the '04 brembo rotor, while a larger diameter than the regular 04 tl (and cl rotor), is about 5mm thinner, which was probably done to keep the rotor mass approximately the same. I suspect that the brembo rotor, while offering more leverage, probably doesn't offer any more heat capacity than the regular rotor.

shinybluecls

you're better off buying a bbk....the front calipers go for around 360ish at dealership and 310 off acuraautomotive...EACH

poisx7

iTrader: (1)

THis question may well be answered by steve as he seems to have started or replied more to this topic "IF ONE WERE GOING THE LEGEND CALIPER ROUTE, WHAT ROTORS WOULD U RECOMMEND, I AM TRYING TO AVOID THE STOCK ROTORS, AND WHAT PADS"
or could i use the stock pads


4 EXAMPLE":

racing brake HP rotors (on Groupbuy rgt now!!!)
HAWK HPS BRAKe PADS AND GOODRIDGE STAINLESS BRAKE LINES!!!!!!

poisx7

iTrader: (1)

or better yet quick rephrase on changing the pads.
Will my changing the stock pads help performance, wear and tear etc since it seems they might just work ok with the legend calipers....

Sly Raskal

iTrader: (1)

hate to bring this back from the dead but....

So what's the update on this? does the caliper swap provide better braking and is it worth it?

Depending on the price, I'd so do this to get better braking in my car.

RaviNJCLs

iTrader: (4)

It is definately a better set up than stock. I 100% recommend it if you cannot afford a BBK. I had mine for about 9 months. If I still had the car, they would still be on it. The only thing is that it ate up the pads. But is was a much better bite than the stock calipers.

PM me if you have more specific questions.

Sly Raskal

iTrader: (1)

Good to hear that someone did do the swap.

Why did it eat up the pads though? Were you braking hard or is just inherent in the dual piston calipers nature to do that If you brake easy, it shouldn't eat up the pads any faster right?

I'm definitly going to look into this because at least I'd get moderate improvements braking and not have to shell out a grip of cash for a BBK. I think the wilwood kit is the only that can work with stock wheels right (with a spacer)?


Did you perform the swap yourself? Did you buy used or new calipers? Just to double check, the calipers should come from a 91-96 NSX?

tankmonkey

I'm running nsx calipers with rotora slotted rotors, ebc greenstuf pads, ss lines, and motul 600 fluid.

my brakes are outstanding, and I was pretty underwhelmed by the stock setup, both on this 6 speed and my previous automatic.

personally, I think the pads and rotors gave the biggest improvement, but the calipers probably contribute somewhat.

I picked up calipers off a '93 nsx, but you can also use legend calipers as well. the nsx calipers fit like stock (use the stock cl mounting brackets), where the legend calipers have to be flipped left-to-right to keep the bleeder screws oriented correctly.